News Release
Police did Nothing to Cause Man’s Fatal Injuries; SIU Discontinues Oro Station Investigation
Case Number: 23-PCD-324
The Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has terminated an investigation into the death of a 38-year-old man in August in Oro Station.
In the early morning of August 12, 2023, Ontario Provincial Police officers were notified of a man lying in the northbound lanes of Highway 11. An officer located the man on the highway in the area of Line 7. The officer roused the man and escorted him off the roadway. Shortly thereafter, the man broke free from the officer and moved into the live lanes of traffic. The officer broadcast what had happened and officers were dispatched to locate the man. A couple of hours later, the man was walking northwards in the curb lane of the southbound Highway 11 lanes when he was struck by a southbound pick-up truck. He would later succumb to his injuries in hospital.
Based on the SIU’s preliminary inquiries, including a review of video footage that captured the incident in parts, Director Martino was satisfied the investigation should be discontinued. On this record, it was apparent that the police did not cause the man’s fatal injuries, nor did they contribute to his death by any act or omission that transgressed the limits of care prescribed by the criminal law. The file has been closed.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations
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Monica Hudon, siu.media@ontario.ca
SIU Communications/Service des communications, UES